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Israel withdraws most of its ground troops from Gaza Strip

But deadly airstrike near UN school sheltering 3,000 displaced people in southern Gaza triggers international outrage.

A Palestinian girl, wounded following an Israeli military strike, arrives at the hospital in Rafah. (MAHMUD HAMS / AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

A Palestinian man carries an injured child following an Israeli military strike on a UN school in Rafah. At least 10 people were killed. (SAID KHATIB / AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

By Karin LaubAssociated PressJosef FedermanThe Associated Press

Sun., Aug. 3, 2014

GAZA STRIP—Israel withdrew most of its ground troops from the Gaza Strip on Sunday in an apparent winding down of the nearly month-long operation against Hamas that has left more than 1,800 Palestinians and more than 60 Israelis dead.

But even as Israel said it was close to completing its mission, heavy fighting raged in parts of Gaza, with at least 10 people killed in what UN and Palestinian officials said was an Israeli airstrike near a UN school sheltering some 3,000 displaced people in southern Gaza.

The United States, in language that was rare in its directness and severity, lashed out at Israel, saying it was “appalled” by the “disgraceful” attack.

And with Hamas vowing to continue the fight, it remains uncertain whether Israel could unilaterally end the war.

Israel launched its military operation in Gaza on July 8 in response to weeks of heavy rocket fire, carrying out hundreds of airstrikes across the crowded seaside enclave. It then sent in ground forces July 17 in what it said was a mission to destroy the tunnels used by Hamas to carry out attacks.

Hamas has fired more than 3,000 rockets into Israel during what has turned into the bloodiest round of fighting ever between the two enemies.

An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the bulk of ground troops had been pulled out of Gaza after the military concluded it had destroyed most of the tunnel network.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said Israel had detected some 30 tunnels that were dug along the border for what he called a “synchronized attack” on Israel.

“We’ve caused substantial damage to this network … we’ve basically taken this huge threat and made it minimal,” he said.

In southern Israel, armoured vehicles could be seen rolling slowly onto the back of large flatbed trucks near the Gaza border, while soldiers folded flags from atop a tank and rolled up their belongings and sleeping bags. At the height of the operation the army had thousands of troops in Gaza.

The Israeli military said early Monday it would hold fire for a seven-hour “humanitarian window” beginning at 10 a.m., saying the truce would not apply to areas where troops were still operating. The military said it would respond to any attacks during that time.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press on against Hamas, he is coming under international pressure to halt the fighting because of the heavy civilian death toll.

UN officials say more than three-quarters of the dead have been civilians, including the 10 people killed Sunday at a UN school that has been converted into a shelter in the southern town of Rafah.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the attack a “moral outrage and a criminal act” and demanded a quick investigation.

According to witnesses, Israeli strikes hit just outside the main gates of the school. The Red Crescent, a charity, said the attack occurred while people were in line to get food from aid workers. Gaza health official Ashraf al-Kidra said in addition to the dead, 35 people were wounded.

Robert Turner, director of operations for the UN Palestinian refugee agency in Gaza, said the building had been providing shelter for some 3,000 people. He said the strike killed at least one UN staffer.

Inside the school compound, several bodies, children among them, were strewn across the ground in puddles of blood. “Our trust and our fate are only in the hands of God!” one woman cried.

The Israeli military said it had targeted three wanted militants on a motorcycle in the vicinity and was “reviewing the consequences of this strike.”

In the current round of fighting, UN shelters have been struck by fire seven times. UNRWA, the UN agency that assists Palestinian refugees, says Israel has been the source of fire in all instances. But it also has said it found caches of rockets in vacant UNRWA schools three times.

Israel accuses Hamas of using civilian areas for cover and says the Islamic militant group is responsible for the heavy death toll because it has been using civilians as “human shields.”

Israeli artillery shells slammed into two highrise office buildings Sunday in downtown Gaza City, police and witnesses said. Al-Kidra said more than 50 Palestinians were killed, including 10 members of one family in a single strike in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israel said that it attacked 63 sites on Sunday and that nearly 100 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel.

Also Sunday, the Israeli military said it found three motorcycles in one of the tunnels leading to Israel. It said the vehicles were meant to facilitate an attack against Israelis and help militants get around more quickly.

Israeli officials said the military would reduce its ground activities in Gaza but would respond to continued attacks from Gaza with airstrikes.

“It’s not a withdrawal,” Israeli cabinet minister Amir Peretz told Channel 10 TV. “It’s setting up a new line that is a more controlled line with the air force doing its work.”

In Gaza, Hamas officials said they would not halt the rocket fire without an end to an Israeli blockade of the territory that has devastated the local economy. Israel imposed the blockade in 2007, saying the measures are needed to keep Hamas from importing arms.

In Cairo, Egyptian and Palestinian negotiators held talks over a potential ceasefire. After accusing Hamas of repeatedly violating humanitarian ceasefire arrangements, Israel said it would not attend the talks and there was “no point” in negotiating with the militant group.

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